This invention relates generally to heat exchangers and, more particularly, to a heat exchanger employed in a hostile, radioactive environment.
One of the critical problems encountered in the development of nuclear energy is that substantially all inspection and maintenance of test and operative facilities and the equipment associated therewith must be remotely performed. Even the various fluid flow systems supporting such development must be contained in shielded cells or rooms to protect personnel. For example, in a proposed radiation test facility employing an accelerated deuteron-lithium stripping reaction to generate a high energy neutron source, the liquid lithium circulating or loop system, including the pump, heat exchanger, and various other components, are completely enclosed within a shielded containment. Conventional heat exchangers would pose problems in such an enclosed, hostile environment since the coolant inlet and outlet nozzles form a part of the heat exchanger's bonnet or head and must be uncoupled from their associated pipe connections before the head can be removed from the body of the exchanger. This is an arduous and time consuming task when done by remotely controlled manipulators and seriously impedes maintenance and inspection. Moreover, these uncoupling procedures are further complicated by the limited or restricted space provided in these shielded enclosures.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to obviate the above noted shortcomings by providing a new and useful heat exchanger facilitating remote inspection and maintenance thereof.
It is another object of this invention to provide in the foregoing heat exchanger a detachable head affording complete and unrestricted access to all tube ends for inspection and repair.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide in the foregoing heat exchanger a novel tube sheet embodying all tube ends and nozzle connections for facilitating inspection and maintenance thereof.
These and other objects, advantages, and characterizing features of this invention will become clearly apparent from the ensuing detailed description of an illustrative embodiment thereof, taken together with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts throughout the various views.